Sugardarlings - Lutz, Florida (pt. 2)

I wanted to give Sugardarlings another attempt considering the cupcake I had was melted and not at its most appealing. I wanted to give the cupcakery an honest chance because I felt that my first experience was probably skewed by the fact that the frosting had melted. I wasn't sure if I went too easy with my judgement or if I was harsh enough, so I figured I'd go out to Lutz to get the red velvets fresh from the bakery.

Red Velvet and  PB & Chocolate cupcakes

I went ahead and treated myself to the PB & chocolate cupcake as well. I thought, since I was driving all the way out to Lutz, I might as well treat myself, right?

Red Velvet Cupcake

I have to say that the fresh cupcake was slightly disappointing. The cake itself was pretty good. It had a good amount of chocolate flavor, but it didn't have the same punch as the first cupcake I had. The frosting tasted like a simple vanilla frosting. It was creamy and smooth, but didn't seem like the ideal pairing with the red velvet.

In the end, I wonder if the heat in the car altered the taste of the first cupcake. I was so impressed by the came itself and I wonder why this one is so different. Now of course I understand that often when baking fresh two cupcakes aren't always going to taste the same, but if one is using the same recipe then it should taste more similar, right?

And the hunt continues...

Price $1.50/each
Cake: moist, airy, minimal chocolate flavor
Icing: smooth, creamy, no cream cheese flavor
Decorations: simple sprinkles
Overall Rating: 8/10
Website: Sugardarlings

Cakes Plus - Tampa, Florida

While on my adventurous cupcake tour of Tampa, I found out that a custom cake bakery, Cakes Plus, actually made cupcakes too. That was an exciting new finding!

The first time I stopped by that weekend, they had run out of red velvet cupcakes. I was sad, but promised myself I would return. I went back a few weekends later and found myself elbow deep in red velvet cupcakes!

I decided not to be too greedy so I only got one cupcake. During the drive to my apartment, the cupcake scent filled my car. I have the say that the scent of the cupcake was fairly misleading.

While the cupcake looked delicious, the cake itself was fairly plain. I didn't taste any chocolate flavor. In fact, there was a hint of cinnamon. The texture was okay, the cake was moist and airy. The icing was a whipped cream type frosting. There wasn't any cream cheese flavor at all.

Overall I was really disappointed, especially when I looked at the various cakes in the displays. The decorations for the cakes looked amazing, they made the cake look like they would taste delicious. 

Oh well, I get my quest continues...

Price $2.99/each
Cake: moist, airy, no chocolate flavor
Icing: smooth, creamy, whipped cream
Decorations: simple
Overall Rating: 3/10
Website: Cakes Plus